Category: Call for Submissions

By Tracy Sherlock
The City of Vancouver is accepting nominations for its third Poet Laureate.
“Since 2007, the City of Vancouver has selected a gifted writer to represent the cultural richness of our community and we have been fortunate to draw upon the talents of professor emeritus George McWhirter and the award-winning Brad Cran as our Poets Laureate. Each brought their unique voice to the creative expression of Vancouver’s identity and their work is an important part of our literary tradition,” Mayor Gregor Robertson said in a news release.

Nominations and submissions will be accepted until Aug. 24 from published poets who live in Vancouver, and who have either an established body of work, or who have been recognized for notable contributions early in their career.

“Becoming the Poet Laureate of Vancouver is a significant honour but more importantly it is a unique opportunity to promote poetry to a wide and appreciative audience,” Cran said in the release. “The Laureateship allows a poet to strengthen the public’s relationship to literature and improve the cultural life of our city. I highly encourage local poets to submit applications to be Vancouver’s next Poet Laureate.”

The new Poet Laureate — who will be paid $5,000 each year — will be announced Oct. 19 for a three-year period.

The funding is donated by Dr. Yosef Wosk through the Vancouver Foundation.
“We are most grateful to Dr. Wosk for his support and vision for the literary arts in our city and particularly for his involvement in creation of the Poet Laureateship,” said chief librarian Sandra Singh.

The book is about Toronto, as you know. And the website, which is a collaboration with Patrick Davidson, is designed as a means for me to talk to people about the City. By sharing excerpts from interviews I’ve been doing, and by eliciting comments and contributions from others.

When I was sent on a publicity tour across Canada with my book on Emily Carr, I was thunderstruck by the stories and anecdotes people in the audience came up with. There lay a gold mine of material, I marvelled. And that prompted me to think I should perhaps have done the tour before writing the book.

www.whatistoronto.ca is my attempt to do the tour before writing the book — to invite participation in the project from people I don`t know. And those who I do know.

If you are or have been involved in an intimate, committed relationship in which you have lived long term in separate domiciles, the editors seek thoughtful, narrative non-fiction accounts of that experience. The writing should explore the challenges and benefits of such an arrangement. Stories of permanent, long-term relationships are of particular interest.

Submissions should be approximately 4 -14 pages, in standard manuscript format (double-spaced, 12 pt. Times Roman font) with full contact information on the first page.

Deadline: Entries must be postmarked or e-mailed no later than July 15, 2011.Entry Fee: $30 per entry (includes a complimentary one-year subscription to Room). Non-Canadian entries: $42 Canadian dollars.Prizes: 1st prize in each category – $500, 2nd prize – $250. Winners will be published in a 2012 issue of Room. Other manuscripts may be published.

More than one entry will be accepted as long as fee is paid for each entry. No manuscripts will be returned. Only winners will be notified.

There will be blind judging, so please don’t put your name or address on your entry submission. On a cover sheet (for mail entries) or in the body of your e-mail (for electronic entries), include your name, address and phone number, as well as the title(s), category and word count of your submission. Entries must be typed on 8.5 x 11 white paper, and prose must be double-spaced. Each entry must be original, unpublished, not submitted or accepted elsewhere for publication and not entered simultaneously in any other contest or competition.

Remember to include your complete contact information in the body of your e-mail. And please make sure that the contact information you give through PayPal is the same as in your entry; use the “note to merchant” field, if necessary.